Attractiveness of a religious theme site: The a-ma cultural village in Macau, China

Specific attributes of a destination and visitors' perceived value are two major and complementary components of tourism destination attractiveness. Based on 329 questionnaires, this study evaluates the level of attractiveness and specificity of A-Ma Cultural Village in Macau, China in the context of the emerging significance of Mazu-related heritage and religious tourism in Asia. Also, the similarities and differences between visitors from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, regarding visit motives, satisfaction, needs and preferences are examined. The statistical tools of analysis used in this study include descriptive statistics, ANOVA and chi-square test. The survey found that the A-Ma Cultural Village's existing resources and created resources are reputable destination attributes, but the upstream factor needs to be greatly improved. Sightseeing is the most popular reason to visit the site amongst visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Hong Kong and China groups showed a comparatively higher level of satisfaction than the Taiwan group which expressed the strongest sense of dissatisfaction about the services and facilities of the site.

The A-Ma Cultural Village's attractive attributes or features and its weaknesses or limitations provide points of departure for further research and discussion on the emerging Mazu theme-site tourism in general, and a useful reference for the operator to enhance and strengthen its theme attractions to visitors in particular.